A recent agreement between WPPI Energy and the firm Invenergy means customers of Sturgeon Bay Utilities will soon receive even more of their electricity from cost-effective renewable energy. Under the agreement, Wisconsin Public Power Incorporated Energy will purchase the output from Invenergy’s 132-megawatt Bishop Hill III Wind Energy Center. The complex, which will be constructed in Henry County, Illinois, is expected to begin commercial operation in 2018.
WPPI Energy will purchase the electricity from Bishop Hill through mid-2040 to serve its 51 member utilities across Wisconsin, upper Michigan and Iowa, including Sturgeon Bay Utilities. The addition of Bishop Hill III will bring to more than 20% the total portion of Sturgeon Bay Utilities’ power supply that comes from renewable energy. Jim Stawicki, Sturgeon Bay Utilities General Manager, says this highly cost-effective resource is an excellent addition to the local utility’s power supply. Stawicki says when the wind energy center comes on line next year, the local utility will more than double the amount of energy it receives from wind resources and its power supply will be more than 40% emission-free.
